9.30.2014

chocolate-coffee ice cream pie

That about sums up my decision to single-handedly work my way through this pie. I couldn't resist. It was 80 degrees out today, (as it was yesterday, and last week). I needed a pick me up.

I used just about every single excuse to justify my actions. Perhaps it can be argued that it would have been foolish of me NOT to eat it, it was so darn good.Have I mentioned that I'm trying to lose weight?

Initially thinking it was not anything THAT special, I soon realized that eating ice cream in a wedge form is quite appealing—more adult-like. I suppose that would be, particularly if comparing it to the spoon-in-one-hand-container-in-the-other technique one might frequently employ.

Quality ice cream always helps; just use your favorite kind. My dad just gifted us with eight pints of Haagen Dazs chocolate (I'll explain in a follow up post) and I needed to use some of them up.

The other gift of Brownie Bites, pulverized and used in the crust, created this yummy dessert.

Make the crust:
Preheat oven to 325ºF. Butter a 9-inch metal pie pan. In a food processor, mix the cookies until they become fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse until combined. Press the crumb mixture firmly into bottom and sides of the pie pan. Bake until crust is set, about 8 minutes. Cool completely.

Make the chocolate sauce:
Combine the cream, butter and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a simmer. Remove from heat. Add the chocolate; let stand 1 minute. Whisk until melted and smooth. Stir in vanilla. Let stand at room temperature until cool and slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.

Assemble the pie:
Let the ice cream stand at room temperature for ten minutes to soften. Scoop the ice cream into the cooled pie shell, layering the flavors as you like. (I put my coffee layer on the top, you might like to sandwich it between the two chocolate ones.) Use a rubber spatula to smooth out the layers. Spread the cooled chocolate sauce on top of the ice cream and freeze pie until pie firms, at least an hour. Cover tightly and keep frozen until ready to serve.